In most fuel supply systems applicable to internal combustion engines, fuel injectors are used to direct fuel pulses into the engine combustion chamber. Fuel injection into the cylinders of an internal combustion engine is most commonly achieved using either a unit injector system or a fuel distribution type system. In the unit injector system, fuel is pumped from a source by way of a low pressure rotary pump or gear pump to high pressure pumps, known as unit injectors, associated with corresponding engine cylinders for increasing the fuel pressure while providing a finely atomized fuel spray into the combustion chamber. Such unit injectors conventionally includes a positive displacement plunger driven by a cam which is mounted on an engine driven cam shaft. The fuel distribution type system, on the other hand, supplies high pressure fuel to injectors which do not pump the fuel but only direct and atomize the fuel spray into the combustion chamber.
A commonly used injector in both the unit and fuel distribution systems is a closed-nozzle injector. Closed-nozzle injectors include a nozzle assembly having a spring-biased nozzle valve element positioned adjacent the nozzle orifice for resisting blow back of exhaust gas into the pumping or metering chamber of the injector while allowing fuel to be injected into the cylinder. The nozzle valve element also functions to provide a deliberate, abrupt end to fuel injection thereby preventing a secondary injection which causes unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust. The nozzle valve is positioned in a nozzle cavity and biased by nozzle spring to block the nozzle orifices. When the pressure of the fuel within the nozzle cavity exceeds the biasing force of the nozzle spring, the nozzle valve element moves outwardly to allow fuel to pass through the nozzle orifices.
Internal combustion engine designers have increasingly come to realize that substantially improved fuel supply systems are required in order to meet the ever increasing governmental and regulatory requirements of emissions abatement and increased fuel economy. It is well known that the level of emissions generated by the diesel fuel combustion process can be reduced by decreasing the volume of fuel injected during the initial stage of an injection event while permitting a subsequent unrestricted injection flow rate. As a result, many proposals have been made to provide injection rate control devices or modifications in or adjacent to the fuel injector nozzle assemblies. One method of controlling the initial rate of fuel injection is to spill a portion of the fuel to be injected during the injection event. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,811,715 to Djordjevic et at. and 3,747,857 to Fenne each disclose a fuel delivery system for supplying fuel to a closed nozzle injector which includes an expandable chamber for receiving a portion of the high pressure fuel to be injected. The diversion or spilling of injection fuel during the initial portion of an injection event decreases the quantity of fuel injected during this initial period thus controlling the rate of fuel injection. A subsequent unrestricted injection flow rate is achieved when the expandable chamber becomes filled causing a dramatic increase in the fuel pressure in the nozzle cavity. Therefore these devices rely on the volume of the expandable chamber to determine the beginning of the unrestricted flow rate. Moreover, the use of a separate expandable chamber device mounted on or near an injector increases the costs, size and complexity of the injector. U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,568 to Perr discloses a similar injection rate control device for an open nozzle injector.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,804,143 to Thomas and 2,959,360 to Nichols disclose other fuel injector nozzle assemblies incorporating passages in the nozzle assembly for diverting the fuel from the nozzle assembly. The injection nozzle unit disclosed in Thomas includes a restricted passage formed in the injector adjacent the nozzle valve element for directing fuel from the nozzle cavity to a fuel outlet circuit. However, the restricted passage is used to maintain fuel flow through the nozzle unit so as to effect cooling. The Thomas patent nowhere discusses or suggests the desirability of controlling the injection rate. Moreover, the restricted passage is closed by the nozzle valve element upon movement from its seated position to prevent diverted flow during injection. The fuel injector disclosed in Nichols includes a nozzle valve element having an axial passage formed therein for diverting fuel from the nozzle cavity into an expansible chamber formed in the nozzle valve element. A plunger is positioned in the chamber to form a differential surface creating a fuel pressure induced seating force on the nozzle valve element to aid in rapidly seating the valve element. The Nichols reference does not suggest the desirability of controlling the rate of injection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,926 to Cavanagh discloses a fuel pumping apparatus including a piston having a passage formed therein for connecting a chamber to an annular groove for spilling fuel during an initial portion of an injection event. The piston includes a land which blocks the spill of fuel after the initial injection stage to permit the entirety of the fuel to be injected into the engine cylinder. However, this device is incorporated into a piston pump positioned upstream from an injector.
Another method of reducing the initial volume of fuel injected during each injection event is to reduce the pressure of the fuel delivered to the nozzle cavity during the initial stage of injection. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,500 to Kelly discloses a closed nozzle injector including a passage formed between the nozzle valve element and the inner surface of the nozzle cavity for restricting or throttling fuel flow to the nozzle cavity so as to provide rate shaping capability. U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,883 issued to Hoffman et at. discloses a similar fuel injection nozzle including a throttle passage formed between the nozzle valve element and a separate control supply valve for restricting fuel flow into the nozzle cavity thus limiting the pressure increase in the cavity and the rate of injection fuel flow through the injector orifices. However, the devices disclosed in both Kelly and Hoffman et at. require extremely close manufacturing tolerances which must be carefully controlled to create a throttling passage having the precise dimensions necessary to achieve effective, predictable rate shaping. As a result, because of the great difficulty associated with holding very close manufacturing tolerances, these devices greatly increase manufacturing costs. Moreover, this tolerance problem makes the production of fuel injectors having substantially identical characteristics both technically and economically unfeasible.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,669,360 issued to Knight, 3,747,857 issued to Fenne, and 3,817,456 issued to Schlappkohl all disclose closed nozzle injector assemblies including a high pressure delivery passage for directing high pressure fuel to the nozzle cavity of the injector and a throttling orifice positioned in the delivery passage for creating an initial low rate of injection. Moreover, the devices disclosed in Knight and Schlappkohl include a valve means operatively connected to the nozzle valve element which provides a substantially unrestricted flow of fuel to the nozzle cavity upon movement of the nozzle valve element a predetermined distance off its seat.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,718,283 issued to Fenne and 4,889,288 issued to Gaskell disclose fuel injection nozzle assemblies including other forms of rate shaping devices. For example, Fenne '283 uses a multi-plunger and multi-spring arrangement to create a two-stage rate shaped injection. The Gaskell reference uses a damping chamber filled with a damping fluid for restricting the movement of the nozzle valve element.
Although the systems discussed hereinabove create different stages of injection, further improvement is desirable. None of the above discussed references disclose a fuel injector incorporating a simple, cost effective rate shaping device which minimizes the complexity of the nozzle assembly while effectively controlling emissions by controlling the rate of fuel injection.